VILLAIN

Chapter 17

Max and Oscar jumped to their feet, drawing their swords and leaping in front of the mermaids and I. I whirled around to face the stranger, at whom their blades were aimed, heart hammering in my chest. We should've heard her approach, what with the grainy sand and the rustling grasses, but we somehow hadn't. And that fact alone was enough to make me not trust this...woman.

She was thin, almost skeletal, and her skin stretched tight over prominent cheekbones. Her hair was a striking combination of white and black, and her lips were thin and cracked. Dark, amethyst eyes were framed by huge bags and crinkled skin, and her black eyebrows were almost nonexistent. She wore a sleeveless black dress that left her bony shoulders exposed, and her veiny skin was so pale it seemed almost...blue in places.

I gasped, the reality of who this had to be hitting me with a jolt. "You're the Sea Witch!" I exclaimed.

She turned her violet eyes on me, her pencil-thin lips twisting into a chilling smile. "I am no more witch than you are," she said, amusement dancing in her tone.

I gulped, backing up. I had heard enough stories about the Sea Witch to know that she was about the last person we wanted to see right now. And ice cold fear ran down my spine, making me shiver even in the heat of the sun.

"Stay back, Meraud! You have no business here!" Oscar shouted, brandishing his sword.

The Sea Witch chuckled, apparently enjoying the confrontation fiercely. "Oscar, Oscar, always so brash. No need for such antics."

"I said stay back!" the prince repeated as she sauntered closer.

The Sea Witch only laughed, eyes flicking to Max. She stopped a mere inch away from his blade, looking down at it in amusement. Max didn't move, taking a protective stance against her as she continued to study him bemusedly.

"If it isn't the little Pan boy," she taunted. "So big and brave with his swordy-sword. And yet...still the frightened little boy you always were."

"What do you want?" Max demanded, and I noticed his jaw clench at Meraud's words.

She smirked, not at all concerned by the nearness of his blade. She traced its tip with her bony finger, eyes glinting with mischief.

"Oh, only to help, of course," she said, mocking innocence in her voice. "The mermaids are in need, are they not? And I have been given ever so much."

Max swallowed hard. "We don't want your help," he snapped.

Meraud looked up from where she had been tracing his blade, pouting her lip. "No? Well, then, I suppose I'll just..."

And then suddenly Max's sword was in her hands, and she was beside Marcelline, pressing its edge into her throat. The mermaid's eyes went wide with fear, and I felt my jaw drop open. I'd never even seen the Sea Witch move.

Max seemed equally as stunned, but he recovered quickly, spinning around to face the Sea Witch again, hands balled into fists.

"Give that back," he snarled.

Meraud only laughed. "Alright, little Pan. As you wish."

Then, without anyone having moved, the sword was back in Max's hand, and this time it was pressed against my throat. Max's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and he hastily dropped the sword. I let out a sharp breath, heart picking up speed. That was close.

"What is your business here?" Prince Oscar demanded. "You know you have no place in the lands of the High King."

Meraud shrugged easily, and beside her I saw Marcelline pale unnaturally, as though she was going to pass out. Marin gasped, moving to her sister's side to support her.